Gov. Phil Murphy: Expansion of tuition-free county college initiative depends on millionaires tax

David Levinsky @davidlevinsky

Friday

May 24, 2019 at 7:00 AM

The free college initiative, known as the Community College Opportunity Grant Program, provides students with adjusted incomes under $45,000 state grants covering any remaining tuition and fees not already paid by federal aid and other state grants or scholarships.

MOUNT LAUREL — Gov. Phil Murphy returned to Rowan College at Burlington County on Thursday to tout the recent expansion of his tuition-free community college initiative to the county school but suggested it could be short-lived if the Legislature fails to approve a millionaires tax.

“It’s well past time we fully recognized the importance of our community colleges, not just to our system of higher education, but the incredible impact they have on the lives of countless New Jerseyans,” Murphy said during a news conference at the Burlington college’s Student Success Center on its Route 38 campus.

The free college initiative, known as the Community College Opportunity Grant Program, provides students with adjusted incomes under $45,000 state grants covering any remaining tuition and fees not already paid by federal aid and other state grants or scholarships.

The administration initially launched the program this spring in 13 county colleges because it believed the $25 million appropriated for the program in the current fiscal year’s budget would not be enough to provide grants to the eligible students in all 19. RCBC and five others were not included. But earlier this month, Murphy and his administration revealed that enrollment and financial aid data collected from the other six colleges revealed the 2019 funding would be enough to provide grants for their students too.

At RCBC, 209 students received grants totaling $215,813, college officials said.

The county students included Erin Finter, a 24-year-old Medford resident who credited the grant with allowing her to remain enrolled.

“Thanks to this grant, I am able to focus on academics and I’m on track to finish my degree next year without the constant fear that I won’t be able to pay for my classes,” Finter said. “Because of this grant, I feel I can continue on to get my bachelor’s degree and maybe even law school.”

Murphy said such examples are why the program was created and why expanding it to additional students is so important. His proposed budget for the upcoming 2020 fiscal year calls for funding for the program to increase from $25 million to $58.5 million, which he said would cover a full year of grants for eligible students in all 19 county colleges.

But the additional funding for the program could become a sticking point in budget negotiations with legislative leaders, particularly since state funding for K-12 public schools is still about $1 billion short of what’s prescribed.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd of West Deptford, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th of Fords, have also expressed opposition to Murphy’s proposal to raise the state’s income tax on earnings above $1 million.

The so-called millionaires tax is expected to raise about $500 million for the budget and Murphy said that revenue would likely be critical to expanding the free college initiative.

“Our long-term goal must be to ensure the ability of the community college grant program to support even more middle-class students throughout their studies. We can’t pull the rug out from under them or from under their dreams,” he said Thursday at RCBC. “The most effective way for us to get there is through tax fairness, and I want to reiterate this, in reinstituting a true millionaires tax. This will most effectively secure the revenues we’re going to need to continue investing in the students … not just in this room, but across the state.”

Asked directly whether the Opportunity Grants could be expanded without the millionaires tax, Murphy responded: “Probably not. And that goes for a whole lot of programs.”

“We’ve got ratings agencies desperate for us to find a reliable source of revenue. We’re asking the 19,000 of the 9 million of us … to pay a fairer share,” he said.

Pullion, who was elected to his freeholder seat in 2017 and appointed to the director’s post this year after Democrats secured a majority on the county board, offered a full-throated endorsement of the controversial millionaires tax.

“The governor is entirely correct; we cannot pull the rug out from under our residents. We must secure this investment in them and in our public school students in Rowan College at Burlington County and in our property taxpayers,” Pullion said. “The only way we can fairly secure these investments is through the millionaires tax. We must find the courage to ask the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share so we can more broadly impact our middle class.”

Following the event, Pullion said his endorsement of the proposal reflects his personal opinion and what he believes is best for Burlington County.

“I’ve always believed in it. Frankly, it’s very hard for me to grapple with the fact that we always take away from the middle class and working people and don’t reach out to people making more than anybody else,” he said. “That’s just the way I feel. We’re all in this together and (millionaires) share in the same resources.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.